DirecTV drops Weather Channel over contract dispute

After more than 30 years, DirecTV Group Inc. stopped carrying the Weather Channel Interactive Inc. at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 14.

The two sides failed to agree on a market-based carriage deal. DirecTV has 20 million subscribers; roughly 57,000 Rochester-area subscribers are affected.

“This is unprecedented for the Weather Channel,” said David Kenny, chairman and CEO of the Weather Co., parent of the Weather Channel. “In our 32 years, we have never had a significant disruption due to a failure to reach a carriage agreement. We offered DirecTV the best rate for our programming, and I am shocked they have put corporate profits ahead of keeping a trusted channel that subscribers rely on every day.”

DirecTV, based in El Segundo, Calif., announced Tuesday it has launched a new channel, WeatherNation, as an alternative to the Weather Channel.

“The Weather Channel has removed its service from DirecTV, and while that’s regrettable, DirecTV will continue to provide its customers with what they’ve been asking for, around-the-clock, 100 percent weather news and information now available on WeatherNation,” a statement on DirecTV’s website reads. WeatherNation is on Channel 362.